Gunshot to the knee

Alsikepike

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I'm writing a scene where one of my main characters gets revenge on a guy who nearly got him killed by framing him for stealing $50,000 worth of drugs from traffickers. I wanted to illustrate my main character's specific concept of justice by having him shoot the guy in the knee, his logic being that the guy'll be forced to spend the majority of the money he earned on surgeries to fix his leg (he doesn't have insurance) and escape the traffickers. Is this a realistic idea? My main character uses a 44. caliber bullet to do the job, and shoots him at point-blank range. What kind of damage could I be looking at? Should I worry about the character bleeding out very easily? My character wants to cripple him, not kill him. Also, what kind of costs would i be seeing? I'm not super knowledgeable on significant joint injuries or medical bills, as I've been fortunate enough to not have to deal with either. Any help would be appreciated.
 

ironmikezero

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A .44 at point-blank range (near contact) is overkill; even a light-load .44 - much less a factory-load Magnum - will make loss of the limb at & below the site exceedingly likely, if the victim doesn't bleed out. See the link; look closely at what is in the knee, it's more than just a joint.

Must it be a firearm? A ball-peen hammer strike to the patella would be a potential method to get the results you desire, and has several inherent benefits: it's cheaper (you can reuse the hammer), it's quieter (assuming you've gagged your victim first), there's not so much blood (try not to break the skin), and it's not so potentially fatal (dead victims don't spend money).

http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00523
 
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MaeZe

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$50K for a knee replacement according to this site.

Too large of a caliber and you risk blowing the leg off. But I don't agree that smashing the patella would be sufficient. The patella acts as a fulcrum for the quadriceps but your knee can function without one.

Maybe review the damage one expects from which caliber at what distance, but the idea is sound.
 

Alsikepike

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I need it to be a gun because the main character is making a quick stop. The two characters I have in the scene are making their way out of town and the main character makes a stop on the way. He also suspects the other guy could be armed. But you're right about the caliber thing. I've seen the kind of hole a 44. caliber can make, I guess I wasn't thinking there. I'll use a lower caliber or put some distance between them.
 
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JNG01

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People make that shot in movies all the time, but that is one heck of a shot to make in real life, under pressure. Even in competition, where the only pressure is the stopwatch timing you and the people watching you shoot, I see accomplished shooters miss targets bigger than that on stationary targetas at distances closer than seven yards.

I can't speak to the medical aspect of your question, but from a shooting realism perspective, I'd say that shot pretty much has to be point blank (unless your MC is an elite small arms specialist--SWAT, or special forces, or a top-tier IPSC competitor, or something like that).
 

Helix

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People make that shot in movies all the time, but that is one heck of a shot to make in real life, under pressure. Even in competition, where the only pressure is the stopwatch timing you and the people watching you shoot, I see accomplished shooters miss targets bigger than that on stationary targetas at distances closer than seven yards.

I can't speak to the medical aspect of your question, but from a shooting realism perspective, I'd say that shot pretty much has to be point blank (unless your MC is an elite small arms specialist--SWAT, or special forces, or a top-tier IPSC competitor, or something like that).

The OP says it is at point blank range.
 

JNG01

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The OP says it is at point blank range.

Then he said he was considering increasing the range ("I'll use a lower caliber and put some distance between them.")

On that topic, there's not going to be a functionally meaningful difference in kinetic energy or terminal effect whether the shot is at 2 yards or 12--the only difference will be how difficult it is for the MC to hit what he's aiming at. Your other idea about using a more tame round will make a much bigger difference. 9mm or .40 are common pistol rounds that are less powerful.

FWIW, the only time I've seen a bullet tear a leg off, it was a .30-06 round on an antelope (not my shot--someone else's). That's an order of magnitude more kinetic energy than a .44 mag.
 

Alsikepike

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I actually was going to imply that the character had roots in the mafia, so that works quite well for what I had in mind.
 

autumnleaf

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GeorgeK

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The main arteries are located posteriorly, so if the GSW is from the side it's much less likely to have a bleed out scenario. Without a joint replacement which may or may not be feasible depending on the extent of damage, then the character is looking at a fused knee joint, permanent limp, likely with a cane or crutch
 

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I lived in Italy from 69 to 85 and in the early to mid seventies the red brigades were pretty much running rampant it seemed. One of their favorite things was "kneecapping".
It involved shooting the victim in the back of the knee, literally blowing it out and insuring there was no chance of doing any kind of repair job on it. It was pretty brutal, but so
were the red brigades. Unfortunately, Italy, like the rest of europe doesn't have the death penalty, so even the brigadisti who kidnapped and murdered ex prime minister aldo moro
did their time and walk around free.